Forensics to move house

KNYSNA NEWS - After spending many a year at the Knysna Police Station, the Knysna Forensic Pathology Facility is all set for a move to the Knysna Provincial Hospital property.

The Forensic Pathology Services are a key arm of the Western Cape Government's Department of Health and Wellness, and play a significant role in any criminal investigation or judicial process.

According to WC Forensic Pathology Service spokesperson Megan Davids, the directorate's primary objective is to render a professional, scientific medicolegal investigation that serves the people of the district.

"Forensic Pathology Services is mandated by law to investigate all unnatural deaths (sudden, unexpected, or violent)."

It is a relatively fledgling arm of the Department of Health too, having only been founded in 2006. Up until then, all forensic pathology services were carried out by the South African Police Service's mortuaries.

In 2006 however, the Forensic Pathology Service was established when the police mortuaries transferred to the Department of Health and the Forensic Pathology Service Directorate was established within this department.

Because the service was previously carried out by police, the existing Knysna unit remained at the Knysna Police Station where it has been housed until now.

Serving the population of the greater Knysna, Sedgefield, Rheenendal, Plettenberg Bay and surrounding areas, the Knysna Pathology Services facility is classified as an M2 facility. This means it handles between 250 and 499 postmortems per month.

But, the facility will not call the Knysna Police Station home for much longer. Started in January 2022, a R26,3m project funded by the Western Cape Government's Department of Health and Wellness, will see a brand-new forensic pathology services facility open up on the Knysna Provincial Hospital property in the coming month or two.

"If everything goes according to plan, the revised practical completion date for the project is August 2023. However, this is subject to change due to weather conditions during winter that impact on construction activities," Davids explained.

She also elaborated on what the facility's relationship with the hospital will be.

"Although Forensic Pathology Services is a provincial Department of Health and Wellness function and the facility is constructed on the Knysna Hospital precinct, it is not an extension of the Knysna Hospital. The facility is 'fit for purpose' and will allow forensic pathologists to examine human remains and consider death scene findings."

The site of the new Forensic Pathology Services facility is still in construction.